Ironing machine



' 21, 9 s. w. WARDWELL, JR 2,201,341

IRONING MACHINE Filed Alig. 13, 1936- Inventor George WWaPdwelLJn His Attovneu.

Patented May 21, 1940 PATENT OFFICE IRONING -'MACHINE George W. Wardwell, Jr., Nichols, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 13, 1936, Serial No. 95,835

Y 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to ironing machines of the type in which ironing is effected between a heated shoe anda co-operating pressing member.

In ironing machines of this type there is a considerable heat loss from the heated shoe when the shoe is out of engagement with the co-opcrating pressing member.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction which will decrease the heat loss of the shoe, and for a consideration of I what I believe to be novel and my invention attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is an end elevation of an ironing press equippedwith a shoe embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation of the shoe.

I have shown my invention as applied to an ironing press of the type shown in my application Serial No. 750,620, filed October 30, 1934, now Patent No. 2,135,266. In this construction the pressure developing mechanism is contained within a cylinder .I having a flange 2 for supporting the cylinder on the top 3 of a table. Within the cylinder is a piston on the top of which is mounted a suitablypadded buck l.' n

the lower end of the cylinder is pivoted a carriage 5 having an arm 6 which supports a suitably heated shoe I. The shoe is moved. into and out of register with the buck by means of a handle 8 attached to the front end of the shoe. The rearward movement of the carriage is cushioned by a spring 9 connected to toggle links it and II which are respectively pivoted to the cylinder and to the carriage. I

When the shoe is in the out-of-register posi-. tion shown in dotted'lines in Fig. 1 the shoe is inclined to the horizontal, and 'with shoes of the conventional construction there would be a considerable heat loss due to convection currents flowing upward along the'heated face of the shoe.

In the present construction thisheat'loss is decreased by a metal plate l2 having flanges l3 which telescope over the heated face ll of the shoe and are slidably mounted thereon by pin and slot connections l5. With this construction the plate is normally biased by gravity to the.

to the close spacing of the plate I! and the shoe., This construction provides a dead air space between the plate i2 and the heated face of the shoe which insulates the plate from the shoe. There is, therefore, less heat loss due to 5 the convection currents ,which flow along the outer surface of the plate l2. When the shoe is pressed against the buck the plate i2 is moved into contact with the face ll of the shoe and is quickly heated thereby. The outer surface of 10 the plate l2 then forms the work contacting surface of the shoe. Since the face ll of the shoe does not come in contact with the work, it need not be polished and may be a low quality casting having a rough or porous surface. If theouter surface of the plate I! becomes damaged so that it is no longer suitable for ironing, it may be easily replaced. This is a decided advantage over shoe constructions in which the ironing siirface is integral with the shoe casting. Another advantage of this construction is that the plate I I! may be removed from the shoe when it becomes necessary to clean its ironing surface. When the ironing pressure is released the plate 12 returns by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 2 in which it forms an effective insulator for the face of the shoe. This construction results in a substantial decrease in the heat loss of the shoe.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In an ironing machine,a :heated shoe having a face adaptedto be pressed against a cooperating pressing member, a metal plate covering said face of the shoe, means for supporting ,the plate whereby the plate is normally spaced from the face of the shoe andwhereby the plate is moved into contact with the face of the shoe when the shoe is pressed against a cooperating pressing member, and means for preventing con-' 40 vection currents between said plate and said shoe when the plate is in its normal position.

21 In an ironing machine, a heated shoe having a face adaptedto be pressed against-a cooperating pressing member, a metal plate cover-, ing said face of the shoe, means for supporting the plate whereby the plate is normally spaced from the face of the shoe andwhereby the plate is moved into contact with the face of the shoe .when the shoe is pressed against-a cooperating pressing member, and flanges on the plate telescoping over said face for preventing convection currents between said plate and the shoe when the plate is in its normal position.

w 3. In an ironing machine, a heated shoe having a lower face adapted to be pressed against a cooperating pressing member, a metal plate covering said face of the shoe, pin and slot connections supporting the plate whereby the plate is normally spaced from the face of the shoe and whereby the plate is moved into contact with the face of the shoe when the shoe is pressed against a cooperating pressing member, and means for preventing convection currents between said plate and said shoe when the plate is in its normal position.

4. In an ironing machine, a heated shoe having a face adapted to be pressed against a cooperating pressing member, means for supporting said shoe whereby the face of the shoe is inclined to the horizontal when out of engagement with the cooperating pressing member, a metal plate covering said face of the shoe, means for supporting the plate whereby the plate is normally spaced from the face of the shoe and whereby the plate is moved into contact with the face of the shoe when the shoe is pressed against a cooperating pressing member, and means for preventing convection currents between said plate and said shoe when the plate is in its normal position.

5. In an ironing machine, an ironing element on which the material to be ironed is arranged, a cooperating ironing element comprising a heated shoe having a heated face adapted to cooperate with said first ironing element, means for effecting relative movement of said ironing elements into and out of register whereby material may be arranged on said first ironing element when the elements are out of register, means for effecting pressing engagement of the ironing elements when in the in-register position, thermal insulating means on the heated face of the shoe for decreasing the heat transfer from said heated face, and means for rendering said thermal insulating means ineifective when the ironing elements are in pressing engagement.

GEORGE W. WARDWELL, Jl. 

